Tunes of 2012: As the Olympics draws to a close, the musical legacy begins

London 2012 has boasted a memorable range of big-hitters – and not just in the sporting arena. Here, Metro takes a look at the soundtrack of champions.

Park live: Alex James, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree

The vast variety of competitors has been matched by the Games’ multigenre soundtrack, from festival gigs to tie-in records. Even before the Olympic torch reached the capital, the music celebrations of the Cultural Olympiad – including the star-studded free events Hackney Weekend and River Of Music – were blazing. Danny Boyle ’s opening extravaganza, with its Underworld-directed playlist, imaginatively placed homegrown talent including Emeli Sandé, Dizzee Rascal , Arctic Monkeys and Two Door Cinema Club on the global stage; even electronic duo F*** Buttons were given a royal airing.

The ceremony’s official album was digitally released that night, and HMV also reported a surge in sales for featured acts. London may well have hosted the most musical Olympics ever.

The sounds certainly haven’t stopped yet. Today, the closely shrouded closing ceremony is complemented by a Best Of British concert in Hyde Park, which may – or may not – be the final headline set from Britpop kings Blur. The Specials and New Order are also on the bill.

Blur’s bassist Alex James says the Olympics spurred them to regroup with a new single (Under The Westway); the setting feels like a homecoming following Blur’s joyous 2009 show in Hyde Park.

‘Being asked to do something as magnificent as this was a sense of civic duty, really,’ says James, on a break in rehearsals. ‘And it’s always emotional just being together. We’ve realised how precious band relationships are – they’re as intense, meaningful and lasting as any kind of family.’

The closing ceremony show follows the release of the Blur 21 retrospectivebox set. Is the event also about creating a musical legacy? ‘Well, there’s the fact that nobody knows if this is the end for Blur, or the beginning of the next bit,’ replies James.

‘And the Olympics is a wonderful showcase for everything British, really. If you look at classic albums lists, Britain’s musicians have held “world titles” for years.’

Best of British: Emeli Sande (Picture: Getty)

The best of British theme has also got Blur’s guitarist Graham Coxon in reflective mood. ‘I suppose our skewed idea of being British was always at the forefront musically,’ he says. ‘We’ve been casting our nets further in our catalogue for this set; we don’t want to do the same old.

‘Some of our old songs almost feel prophetic now, while Under The Westway reapproaches the city-centric subject matter, with an older head. Songs just develop like photographs; if they’re left, a picture emerges.’

But don’t expect that picture to portray the surge in patriotism that’s accompanied the past two weeks of medal glory.

‘We can only approach this concert as Blur would – we’ve never been flag-waving patriots,’ adds Coxon. ‘London is the place where we live and experience all the range of emotions that a human can, but we also criticise our home. So it isn’t exactly going to be Last Night Of The Proms – but it will be our version of it.’

It should be a memorable finale – but the mark of London 2012’s music, surely, will be its lasting impact. The Olympics have involved various specially commissioned scores, and one of the most epic was indie rock actElbow’s soundtrack for the BBC’s Games coverage.

‘We started with a five-note fanfare to represent the five Olympic rings,’ explains Elbow’s frontman Guy Garvey. ‘The music needed a gladiatorial element, and the winner’s and loser’s themes work in unison to create a crescendo.’

Although their piece, entitled First Steps, was penned for TV montage rather than conventional release, Elbow definitely designed it to have resonance. ‘Olympians are the fastest, the strongest, the best at what they do; some of them can practically fly,’ says Garvey. We wanted music that wouldn’t leave a dry eye in the country.’

London-based composer Gavin Higgins, who participated in another Olympics-inspired project, New Music 20×12, says the Games have given emerging musicians a sporting chance – and their compositions will have a lasting platform.

‘The good thing about New Music 20×12 is that it was almost a prerequisite that works needed to be performed more than once over 2012-2013,’ says Higgins. ‘They can be heard on BBC Radio 3 or downloaded [nmcrec.co.uk].

‘The fact that nearly all the 20×12 concerts were free also ensured packed halls, and my work is now part of the Rambert Dance Company’s touring repertoire. It has helped to create a musical legacy of works that will live on and be heard beyond the Olympic year.’

DJ and Brownswood label boss Gilles Peterson – whose Olympics dates have ranged from curating the first Traction Festival to spinning free sets at the Swiss and Brazilian ‘national houses’ – is also optimistic that the capital’s music buzz won’t suddenly fade.

‘Any world meeting of culture is going to inspire people,’ he says. ‘From a British point of view, it’s great, because it’s all these things coming to us. With Traction, we got to curate a one-day festival with a brilliant backdrop. I’m hoping we’ll continue every year. Hopefully, people will also discover something new in the Olympics melange, and build on it. That’s the musical legacy of London 2012: that unusual energy.’

The closing ceremony, A Symphony Of British Music, will be shown live on BBC1 at 9pm.GOLDEN OLDIES: Top five musical moments

MOSCOW 1980Russia’s capital was arguably the first to present the musical razzle-dazzle now associated with Olympics ceremonies. The USA may have boycotted the Games, but it surely took note. The finale’s brooding theme, Goodbye, Moscow, was sung by Lev Leshchenko while mascot Misha (a terrifying giant teddy) was ritually released to the skies.

LOS ANGELES 1984Over to the City Of Angels – and glorious soul diva Etta James , who transformed the opening ceremony into a gospel congregation, for a storming rendition of When The Saints Go Marching In. Film composer John Williams’s famous Olympics fanfare also debuted.

BARCELONA 1992Spanish opera superstars Montserrat Caballe and José Carreras opened with the lavish Welcome theme, accompanied by 600 traditional Catalan folk dancers. Caballe’s 1987 smash hit with Freddie Mercury, Barcelona, was also originally created for these Games; tragically, the Queen legend died a year before this event.

ATHENS 2004Best-dressed Olympics performance surely had to be Icelandic maverick Björk, whose ballgown unfurled to stadium-sized proportions at the opening ceremony, as she performed the ethereal Oceania.

BEIJING 2008After the breathtaking precision of Beijing’s performers and percussion troupes, what better score for new hosts London than havingLeona Lewis and Jimmy Page jamming together on a collapsible bus for the official handover? This excruciatingly memorable gig thankfully fades in contrast to 2012’s real soundtracks.